A New Jersey couple was caught getting intimate in a place usually reserved for more reverence – underneath a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Seaside Heights police say that a priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic church found the couple having sex beneath the statue Tuesday afternoon.

Newark resident Anthony Getchius, 43 and Jersey City resident Noelle Smart, 48, are facing lewdness charges. Police say that the couple was in a secluded garden located between the rectory and the church, which is next door to police headquarters.

“They should both be going to church, but not doing this in church,” says Police Chief Thomas Boyd. “They should be in the pews getting some help.”

Boyd says that this was the first time he’s had to deal with this situation in his 34 years in law enforcement. 

Getchius and Smart faced a judge Wednesday afternoon. They are expected back in court later this month.